Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 34th cycle. Now cycle 35!

YEAR TWO ANNIVERSARY CYCLE! - Within days it will have been two years since I've started this Gleekathon, and like last year I'm dedicating the cycle to commemorating my 21 favorite one shots or chapter stories from year two (up to the point where I did the planning ;)) A number of those I was very attached to, but left sad to see may have fallen through the cracks, so it seems fair they should get a second shot ;)

Last year there were three categories, but this year I've added two new ones: Prequel, Sequel, POV Swap, and now Alternate Ending, and Additional Scenes. In no particular order... Today's story is a Prequel to #604 "Made of Words, Made of Songs" a Brittany/Santana + Trinity Series story originally posted on June 17th 2011.

"Words To Live By"
Santana, Brittany, Quinn - Brittana
Extra to Trinity series

They had been weary, when Breaker had laid the plan before them. The whole thing had been relatively simple where they were concerned… they'd been through this before… but then came the twist. Due to security measures, in order to enter and exit, there would have to be a pause in between, which was to say they would enter, get what they'd come for, and then they would wait… hidden, but still on the premises, until a few hours later when they could finally make a break for it. This wasn't without risk, this they knew. If one guard should deviate from the actions they'd observed in preparing for the hit, then they could well get caught, or forced to run and then get caught… But if Breaker said it was doable, then they knew they could trust her, so that settled the matter: they were on for two nights from then.

They had been on like clockwork, worthy of their reputation. Before long they had gotten what they'd came for, it was all packed and secure, and now it was time to retreat into their hiding place. Each of them were on their own, but they remained in contact nonetheless. They usually tried to keep quiet, except to keep one another updated with anything that should affect their mission. Looking back, she imagined it did have to do with their situation, but when Optic heard Sneak speak up, what she said sent her mind elsewhere…

"It's raining," she said. Optic said nothing… but Santana Lopez closed her eyes.

She could still see it when she stopped and recalled it… the night before they'd come upon an old friend, an old classmate… club mate… who had gone and found a path for herself and would soon welcome them along that same path… It had been raining then, too, and two girls in love had taken shelter from the downpour in a diner. The blonde had almost slipped, wet sandals sliding across the floor, and they'd laughed before hurrying to drop into the nearest booth they could find. Side by side, they'd both helped the other ring out the water from their hair.

Brittany had turned on the bench, back to the wall as she gathered her legs up close, the better to face her. Santana had been busy fishing out the contents of her pockets, separating out the money before the bills could cling together and become fused. Her phone would dry, hopefully… The coins and the keys were cold to the touch… When she finally looked up and to the side, she found a pair of blue eyes observing her every move, tinged with the smile that was on her lips.

"What?" she asked, though she couldn't help but smile back. Brittany rested her chin on her knees, shrugged. She didn't need to say it – she was happy, that was all. Santana could understand, after all the crap they'd gone through just to get to this. No matter how long it had been since they'd finally shaken away all sort of pretence and became a couple, there would be these moments where they had to stop and be thankful for it, to remember the days when it hadn't been as it was now. She had leaned over and kissed her, to say that, yes, she was just happy, too.

They'd held to the silence for a beat, as she'd pulled back, and that was the first time she'd thought it. She had considered it, in some form or another over the years, of course, but it had never been something concrete, something with a definiteness… Now though, soaked to the bone and warmed all at once, she could say it with absolute certainty: she was going to marry that girl.

But if she was going to do that, to propose, to ask her to become her wife, she had to be realistic about it… they weren't exactly flowing with funds, and she wanted to get her a ring. Not some crap you could find in a cereal box or at some little department store, no… that would not do. And then there would be the wedding, and then everything after that… They barely got by as it was and they'd been dying to move somewhere, anywhere that wasn't next to their neighbors on either side. Well, she was dying to get away; Brittany still insisted they could make it work with them… It was a hopeless cause…

Then they'd run into Quinn, then they'd found out what she was up to, then they'd joined her… Breaker, Optic, Sneak… the Trinity was born, and things had begun to change. They had left the apartment and the neighbors from hell as the three of them had gone and bought the house together, the one where they were themselves, with their own names. Looking back, apart from the neighbor element, she did sort of miss the old apartment, tiny yes, broken down a little bit, but theirs, the first one they'd shared… But she got over it… home was wherever Brittany was.

As they'd gotten swept up into the world of the Trinity, the engagement had been left to rest on the sidelines, but Santana hadn't forgotten. And now her heart was leaping, leaping, thumping in her chest like it was trying to get her attention, and her eyes opened…

"Okay, we're clear," Breaker's voice startled her, and she had to remind herself where they were, what they were doing. She took a few deep breaths.

"Moving now," Sneak's voice followed.

"M-moving…" Optic forced herself to speak.

"Everything alright?" Breaker asked.

"Yeah, of course," Optic tried not to sound too annoyed. Still it took her a second to remember where she was supposed to go. Finally it came to her and she was on the move.

It was still pouring down when they got out, and in a way it helped – it gave them cover from anyone who might see them – of course they would run, probably just some girls caught without umbrellas and seeking shelter. The rule was always to maintain the no-name policy until they'd gone a certain distance away from the site they'd hit, but she had to let go of being Optic, because it wasn't her doing what she was about to do, and it wasn't Sneak she was going to ask…

"Brittany!" she cried into the rain, and the two blondes stopped in their tracks, either thinking she'd lost her mind or that she was in peril.

"What are you doing?" Breaker asked, made louder to let her voice carry over the downpour.

"I need to say something…" Santana looked to Brittany.

"Can't it wait?" Breaker asked, looking around.

"I think it's waited long enough!" she declared, putting down her equipment, taking steps toward her girlfriend. "You might want to put that down," she indicated her case. "Wouldn't want it to break."

"Why would it break?" Sneak asked, though she did as told. She didn't say a word, but then Quinn knew what was about to happen, and instinctively she'd taken a step or two back, trying to give them space even if Santana almost had to shout to be heard as it was.

"I've been wanting to say this for a long time, I should have said it, so here it is. I love you…"

"You've said it before," Brittany cut in, smirking.

"Yeah…" Santana smiled back, "But that's not the part I'm talking about," she gave a small nod as though to say 'let me finish,' and Brittany nodded back. "I love you, because of who you are, all of it, but none more than because every single moment I can think of in my life where I've been really and honestly happy, it's been with you next to me, and that's how I want it to be, today, tomorrow, years from now… All of it…" She knew she was crying by then, they both were… Quinn, too, probably. Her breath caught in her throat, one last push to say the words that had been lying in wait ever since that night in the diner. "Marry me, Brittany… Will you?" There was a pause, but Santana could see it was only out of the fact that the blonde was overtaken by what she'd see to be giddy, boundless joy, before she could let her head give a deep nod and then take the steps to bridge the gap in between them.

"What took you so long?" she laughed. "Yes!" she put in then, in case it wasn't clear yet. Santana wrapped her arms around her, and Brittany rested her forehead to her shoulder. "Yes, yes," she repeated… the word had been waiting in her throat, too. They remained this way for a minute or so before they felt a hand on both their shoulders and looked to find Quinn standing there.

"I'm sorry, but we need to get out of here," she reminded them, though she was smiling from ear to ear. She granted herself the courtesy to hug them both in turn, congratulating them, and then they all took up their bags – she'd put hers down as well – to go on running. And they had disappeared into the night…

THE END

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!